Inuyama Castle

Inuyama Castle was built during the Muromachi Shogunate period. It is located on a small hill next to the Kiso River and is also known as Baidi Castle. This name is not unfamiliar to Chinese travelers, and the namer is indeed reminiscent of the poem "Early Departure from Baidi Castle" written by Li Bai. The Inuyama Castle Tower is one of the twelve existing ancient castle towers in Japan, and its style is relatively old. It is known as the "Four National Treasure Castles of Japan" together with Himeji Castle, Matsumoto Castle, and Hikone Castle. It has 3 floors on the outside, 4 floors inside, and 2 floors underground, which is rare among the castle towers in Japan. Of course, these floors are open to visitors, and travelers can view various architectural structures of the city underground. On the top floor, the 4th floor, you can also walk to the outdoor corridor to enjoy the scenery. Every Thursday, you can also watch the tour of the Aichi Prefecture's Warring States Princess Team for free, which is somewhat similar to the Nagoya Castle's general team and is still worth seeing.

Inuyama Castle was built in 1537 by Oda Nobuyasu, the uncle of Oda Nobunaga. It is located on the border of Owari (Aichi Prefecture) and Mino (Gifu Prefecture). It has been a key point for conquering the world since the Warring States Period, and the lord of the castle has changed frequently. During the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute (1584), Toyotomi Hideyoshi led an army of 120,000 into the castle and had a showdown with Tokugawa Ieyasu who used Komakiyama Castle as his base. In the Edo Period (1603-1868), Naruse Masashige, the head of the Owari domain's retainers, became the lord of the castle until the end of the shogunate. However, due to the abolition of domains and establishment of prefectures during the Meiji Restoration (1868), the castle became the property of Aichi Prefecture. However, due to the Nobi earthquake in 1891, half of the castle was damaged, and the castle became the property of the Naruse family again on the condition of restoration. It was a privately owned castle until 2004, when it was taken over by a foundation.